PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief Security
Officer, Abdulrahman Mani, has revoked the order by
the Aide-De-Camp to the President, Lt.-Col. Lawal
Abubakar, removing operatives of the Department of
State Services from giving Buhari close body
protection.
Mani, in a memo countermanding the ADC’s order,
said the DSS operatives should disregard the
directive by Abubakar. He said the order was a
misrepresentation of Buhari’s directive.
Buhari’s ADC had on Wednesday last week issued a
memo redeploying the DSS officials from 10 beats
that they had hitherto manned inside the Presidential
villa, explaining that the decision to strip the DSS
officials of their traditional roles was part of efforts
to enhance general security within the villa.
He also claimed that the development was
necessitated by “recent events,” which he did not
disclose.
The ADC consequently directed personnel of the
Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police to take over the
DSS officials’ duties of providing “close/immediate
protection” for the President with immediate effect.
But in a June 26, 2015, memo by the CSO, a copy of
which was obtained by our correspondent on
Sunday, Mani directed the DSS officials to disregard
the ADC’s order, saying the duties being performed
by the DSS personnel in the Presidential villa were
backed by relevant statutes and gazetted
instruments.
These roles, he added, included close body
protection of the President in line with standard
operational procedures and international best
practices.
He cited Section 2(I )(ii) of Instrument No.SSS 1 of
May 23, 1999 made pursuant to Section 6 of the
National Security Agencies Decree of 1986, which has
been re-enacted as Section 6 of NSA Act CAP N74 LFN
2004.
He said the law empowered personnel of the DSS to
provide protective security for designated principal
government functionaries.
The functionaries, he said, included but not limited to
the President and Vice President as well as members
of their immediate families.
He said the law also mandates the DSS to provide
protective security for sensitive installations such as
the Presidential Villa and visiting foreign dignitaries.
The CSO said it was for that reason that personnel of
the DSS near the President were carefully selected
and properly trained and that background checks
were constantly carried out on them to confirm their
suitability and loyalty.
Mani said the issues raised in the ADC’s memo
suggested that he ventured into an unfamiliar terrain.
The CSO’s memo read, “In fact, the issues raised in
the aforementioned (ADC’s) circular tend to suggest
that the author may have ventured into a not-too-
familiar terrain.
“The extant practice, the world over, is that VIP
protection, which is a specialised field, is usually
handled by the Secret Service, under whatever
nomenclature.
“They usually constitute the inner core security ring
around every principal. The Police and the military by
training and mandate are often required to provide
secondary and tertiary security cordons around
venues and routes.
“However, all other security agencies, including the
army, the police and others, also have their roles to
play. It is on this note that heads of all security
agencies currently in the Presidential Villa and their
subordinates are enjoined to key into the existing
command and control structure. They are to work in
harmony with each other in full and strict compliance
with the demands of their statutorily prescribed
responsibilities.
“Meanwhile, joint training programmes and other
incentives will be worked out in the days ahead to
ensure that all security personnel at the Presidential
Villa are properly educated to understand their
statutory roles and responsibilities.
“This is with a view to avoiding obvious
grandstanding, overzealousness, limited knowledge
or outright display of ignorance in future.”
Mani asked all the unit and departmental heads to
bring the content of his memo to the attention of all
personnel for compliance.
He copied the National Security Adviser; the Chief of
Defence Staff and the Director-General of DSS.
A source however told our correspondent on Sunday
that although the CSO’s directive had been widely
circulated, it has yet to take effect as the military men
drafted to replace the DSS officials were still at their
beats.
The source however introduced another dimension
when he blamed a top DSS official in the Presidential
Villa for the confrontation.
He claimed that trouble started when the official
ordered that soldiers should be blocked from
residence reception.
Infuriated by that action, he said the soldiers
contacted the ADC who became angry and vowed to
report to the President.
“Before that incident, the soldiers have been
cooperative and well-behaved. The situation we find
ourselves is painful but it is also avoidable,” the
source added.
A security expert, Mike Ejiofor, had told our
correspondent in an interview on Friday that the
ADC’s directive could not stand because it could not
be backed by law.
The Presidency had in a statement by the Special
Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr.
Femi Adesina, on Wednesday, said Buhari had not
given any order for the expulsion of the DSS officials
from the Presidential Villa.
Adesina however admitted that a reorganisation of
security at the seat of power was underway.
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